Blog Post #11

                I have to admit; when I was younger I assumed foster care was a great thing. I remember at time when I was angry with my mother and I told her I was going to go find a foster family who loved me. My impractical perception was derived from the media. I watched films such as, Free Willy and I am Sam which demonstrated the positive side on foster care. The foster parents had demonstrated great hospitality and love. Now that I think about it, it was a ridiculous remark because foster care is not a great experience like the films indicated. Bess O’Brien’s film, Ask Us Who We Are: Foster Care in Vermont, does a great job in highlighting the positive and negative perspectives on foster care. A lot of these young adults had a bad experience; meanwhile a few did have the happy ending. I thought it was important that the film depicted the process that occurred with foster care. For instance, going into details on how the young adults were removed or how they felt living in a stranger’s house. These emotions accounted for the hardships and struggles that occurred when dealing with foster care.

                The two speakers in class presented different perspectives on foster care. Kaitlin’s foster care was a kinship one, and it was something that I can relate to because in my culture it is not common to see a child living with a stranger. Instead, they would end up being passed among the family members.  Jessie’s story was a great one. Although he had a bad experience when he lived with his permanent foster care, it was great to know that when he was younger he had witnessed the love and care he deserved from his first set of foster parents. The story of how he was placed with his permanent family was dreadful, and the experience he had when they moved to a different state. This makes me question how well the government is protecting these children. Roberts (2002) points out that “scholars interested in protecting families from state domination should acknowledge that foster care constitutes a form of state supervision of poor children and that adoption often involves a government disruption of their relationships with their parents” ( pg. 117). I agree with her because the relationship a child have with their parents is the most important thing, and if the government believes that the parents are not fit, they need to still achieve that relationship in children and foster parents. I think that the government should not only focus on who the bad parents are, but they should place an intensive procedure for foster parents. Just like what adoptive parents have to go through, these foster parents should be able to be questioned and screened to be the best of the best because they will be responsible for these vulnerable children.  

-          MAI NHIA.